Disposable syringe



1969 J. M. MATHESON 3,476,111

DISPOSABLE SYRINGE Filed June 20, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

INVENTOR JAMES M. MATHESON IATTO R N EY Nov. 4, 1969 J. M. MATHESONDISPOSABLE SYRINGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 23 June 20, 196'.

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INVENTOR JAMES M. MATHESON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,476,111DISPOSABLE SYRINGE James M. Matheson, 10 Pierce Ave., Portland, Maine04112 Filed June 20, 1967, Ser. No. 647,532 Int. Cl. A61m 3/00; B67d/06; B65d 85/08 US. Cl. 128-227 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Adisposable syringe includes a corrugated conduit extensible from two tosixteen inches interconnecting a container and a rigid elongated nozzle.The corrugated conduit and container are made of a plastic or paperwhich is sufficiently waterproof for a single use. The container whenfilled is self supporting so that it may be held in the palm of theusers hand with the corrugated conduit extending between two digits ofthe users hand. For storage in an envelope, the container may be foldedto produce longitudinal side channels and the conduit may be reverselybent so that the nozzle may be positioned in one of the side channels.

Syringes for enema administrations and for vaginal douches are availablebut not of a single use type adapted to meet requirements. There is areal need for such syringes for not only could douche kits bemachine-dispensed but also economies would result in hospital managementit they and single use enema kits were available. Proposals fordisposable kits for such uses have not proved acceptable for variousreasons ranging from production costs to inability to ensure conveniencein use.

The general objective of the present invention is to provide syringes ofa low cost construction that are adapted to meet storage, dispensing,and use requirements whether distributed by hospital supply houses orsold in vending machines. In accordance with the invention, thisobjective is attained by providing a syringe having its containercollapsed and having a nozzle placed in communication with the interiorof the container by a conduit extensible from a shortened state,convenient for packaging, into an extended state in which its length isadequate for self use requirements.

A particular objective of the invention is to provide a container in theform of a bag collapsed by end-to-end folds and of paper treated for asingle use or of a plastic that can be similarly collapsed and with thecontainer wall structure self-supporting when opened and filled.

A further objective of the invention is to provide an extensible conduitthat may be made of paper treated to be sufficiently waterproof for asingle use or of a plastic, in either case the conduit to besufiiciently flexible so that when the filled container is supported inthe palm of the hand with the conduit depending between two fingers or athumb and a finger, the conduit can be squeezed shut by digitalpressure. A further objective of the invention is to provide, for someuses, extensible conduits that are, when extended, substantially free oflengthwise elasticity.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a kit in which amedicament is within the container, in a water permeable package securedto a wall thereof, for example.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodimentsof the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novelfeatures, and advantages will be apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a syringe as seen from the open end of itscontainer,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary section, on an increased scale, showing theconduit construction.

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the container collapsed and in a package,

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of the syringe within an indicated package,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a syringe in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 7 is a view of the syringe within an indicated package, and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary side view of an extensible conduit inaccordance with yet another embodiment of the invention.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES 1-5, a molded,round bottomed container 10 is shown as having a reinforced rim 11formed with an eye 12 by which the container 10 may be suspended. At itsbottom, the container 10 has a port 13 to which an extensible conduit 14is sealed. The other end of the conduit 14 is sealed to an elongatednozzle 15.

The container 10 may be formed from any moldable material that issufiiciently waterproof for a single use and, for most purposes, itswall structure is sufficiently rigid to be self-supporting when thecontainer is filled for use but foldable lengthwise to provide inwardlyextending, outwardly opening channels 16, see FIGURES 4 and 5, forpackaging within a suitable envelope indicated at 17 in FIGURE 5 withthe conduit 14 within one of the channels 16.

The conduit 14 is shown in FIGURE 3 as a length of corrugated tubing anddesirably stretches to a length in the neighborhood of sixteen inches.Its shortened length may be as short as two inches. While for some uses,the lengthwise elasticity of the conduit 14 is not important, it isdesirable, in self uses, that the conduit have insufficient lengthwiseelasticity to interfere with the application.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES 6 and 7, thecontainer 18 is shown as a conventional paper bag type but of a stockthat is sufiiciently waterproof for a single use. In this embodiment ofthe invention, the extensible conduit 19 has a nozzle 20 secured to oneend while its other end is in communication with the interior of the bag18 and has a flange 21 sealed to the bottom thereof. The kit may bepackaged in an envelope, indicated at 22 in FIGURE 7.

In FIGURE 8, the conduit is shown as a length of tubing 23, plastic orpaper, that is shortened by deforming it into reverse bends.

It will be noted that the containers 10 and 18 have packages of amedicament secured to the interior side walls, the package in the caseof the container 10 being indicated at 24 and in the case of thecontainer 18 at 25, the medicament packages being of a water absorbentmaterial.

In use it will be noted that the syringe may be removed from thecontainers without releasing the nozzles from the channels. Once thesyringe is to be used, it is opened and filled and its conduit mayeither be held in a nondraining position or clamped closed by digitallyapplied pressure. The filled containers may, as shown in FIGURES 2 and6, be held in the palm of the users hand, in embodiments where the wallstructure of the container is self-supporting when filled. When heldwith the extensible conduit depending between two fingers or a fingerand a thumb, the conduit may be held closed by digitally appliedpressure until the container contents are to be injected.

It will be appreciated that While the essential features of syringes inaccordance with the invention have been.

described, the detailed construction may be varied substantially asrequired by particular uses and constructions that are desired for lowcost production.

I claim:

1. A disposable syringe for enema and douche uses, said springcomprising an open-ended container, a rigid elongated nozzle, and acorrugated conduit having a diameter substantially less than thediameter of said container and efiecting communication between saidnozzle and the interior of said container, said container and nozzleeach being formed of a plastic, or paper which is sutficientlywaterproof for a single use, a size of said container being such that,when filled with an enema or douche solution, it may be held in the palmof the users hand, the location of said corrugated conduit relative tosaid container and the yieldability of said corrugated conduit beingsuch that when the container is filled and supported on said hand asaforesaid, the corrugated conduit depends between two digits of saidhand and may be closed by clamping pressure applied by said digits, thewall structure of said container being sutficiently rigid so that saidcontainer is self supporting when the container is filled with an enemaor douche solution and held in the palm of the users hand andsufliciently flexible so that the container may be collapsed alonglengthwise folds on opposite sides thereof to form a substantially flatpackage including outwardly opening channels on opposite sides of thecontainer, the structural characteristics of said corrugated conduitfurther being such that the corrugated conduit in its unextended statehas a length of about two inches and may be reversely bent so that therigid nozzle and the nozzle end of said conduit may be positioned in oneof the side channels which may be formed in the container for packagingpurposes and the corrugated conduit may be extended to a length of aboutsixteen inches for self use requirements.

2. The syringe of claim 1 in which the corrugated conduit, when extendedto a length of about sixteen inches, has substantially no lengthwiseelasticity.

3. The syringe of claim 1 in which there is a water permeable packagecontaining a medicant secured to the inner surface of the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,294,219 2/1919 Andrus l282271,718,369 6/1929 Lillford 128-227 1,901,069 3/1933 Williams 128-2272,112,160 3/1938 Johnson 128-239 X 2,629,377 2/1953 Parks 128-2272,646,044 7/1953 Diack 128-227 3,277,890 10/1966 Warncke 128-1423,298,577 1/1967 Chlystun 222-530 X GEORGE J. MARLO, Primary ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R.

